16 April 2012...tenth letter from Switzerland

April 16, 2012

Hey mom!

haha.. theres a friend of a member here whose name is actually sunshine... 

sonnenshein! haha his last name. (mom always addresses my letters as Elder Sunshine)

YYep!!! I knew jacob would be fast tracked!!  Tell annaGREAT that i say hi and I love them! 

Oh man... feeling the spirit is so exhausting... I am always dead on sunday because of that! Oh and this morning as i was studying the scriptures... I was crying for like an hour straight! It was soo good! I love reading the scriptures by the spirit and writing things down when they come because... more and more come!

Our ward is great.. almost like frontenac!! a lot from everything and actually a ward! rajeev came to sacrament meeting on sunday and i think he enjoyed it.. but had to go to work only after 30 minutes... he really wants to try to feel the spirit... but just like all the swiss he has no time to do the things necessary to feel it and be ready for the inspiration. 

I will send pics!!!

schedule... hmm study for 3 hours in the morning and then eat and then go door to door like 3 hours a day... find and talk to as many people as i can on the street in the bus, on the train and in a plane... gnaw we don't have planes but i thought the rhyme was nice. We have a laundromat in our building.

The grocery story is almost like a small wal mart... much better here in switzerland... the other is like a third world country supermarket.

Let me know where he is going!!!! I love youuu!!!

Elder Sonne

16 April 2012 

Zollikofen, Switzerland

    This week, the lord gave me a nice little present for my 10 month anniversary as a missionary:

a miracle. 

     His name is Robbin and he went from atheist to believer in a minute or two. We met him on the street and asked him to read a scripture about God in 2 Nephi 26:23-24. He read for quite a while and we asked him what he liked. He said a couple of points about it. I then asked if he had ever felt the light and love of God; he said yes, just a moment ago as i read that passage. He said I felt something right here, as he pointed to his heart. He said, it was like a burning here. The spirit had touched his heart! 

We bore testimony that he had felt the love of God and the holy ghost and that God lives. He then said, hmm yea I guess there is a God! We made an appointment to call him and gave him a book of mormon. 

    He was changed in the twinkling of an eye, by the spirit of the lord. It changed him; like it did with king Lamoni in Alma 19:6. (from an unbeliever to a believer) He felt the wonderful light that Alma the younger felt in Alma 36:20-21, And i have experienced it too. It's true, the gospel is true, and the Lord can bless us with the POWER of the spirit. He changes our hearts and others heart so that we have no more desire to do evil but do good continually: Mosiah 5:2-4. I love it; the scriptures are true. The conversion of alma and paul happened similarly. It's all true and we can experience the joy of the gospel and miracles daily when we do our best to follow the example of the master, Jesus Christ.

Elder Sonne 

9 April 2012...ninth letter from Switzerland

9 April 2012

NOOOOOOO ARE YOU

SERIOUS!!!??????!!!!!!!!!!??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!?!!!!!!!!!

jacob's on his mission.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WOW that is soooo cool ... well i need the address for the MTC then!!

I wrote a letter last week but then didn't get the chance to send it...

perfect!  Oh man That is soo cool!

Tell Brandon that I wish him a happy birthday and that he is getting

old and I hope his hair isn't turning grey yet! But that I love him and

am grateful for his example of going on a mission. I wanted to be

like him when I was little because he was a great example and always a

friend to me.

Haha Elder Hepri!!! that's soo cool! I hope you enjoy the sky room and

get the mixed berry lemonade. Its the best!  I love you so much!

 Thank you for always being there for me :)

i love you, the gospel is true, and the atonement works; not only for

justice and sins, but also so that we can have a comforter to be with

us and who knows exactly how it is. He has helped me so much

throughout the tough times and will continue to help. We can rely on

him in everything that we do!

I hope you have a great week...Thanks!

Elder Sonne

2 april 2012...eighth letter from Switzerland

2 April 2012

Dear Mama!

Oh man I loved the uchtdorf talk and the STOP IT! Oh and the nelson talk about the plan of salvation, there were by the way a lot of talks about the plan of salvation and enduring to the end and our eternal destiny. Anyway elder nelson said that the big bang theory is like an explosion in an ink shop creating a dictionary hahaha.

I am actually doing much better and am really enjoying this place. I have decided to never be negative again and then my attitude will change with it. It has seemed to be working! We have had ridiculous success in finding people... at least people that would talk a little bit with us! We really have been basking in the blessings of the lord. That is after we have worked very hard and continue to do so.

I heard the session in german and did it in german!! I know most of the german churchy words so I got through it! I got through it very nicely! It was a joy to be able to just sit and listen for the spirit and the love of our heavenly father. I actually felt the spirit more in german this time... probably because I am a missionary. Recently I have been feeling really close to the lord and his love for all of his children. I feel his love and help bearing me up in everything I do. 

Have you also been wearing your seat belt... I saw your promise in my photo book! YOu should keep your promises! Haha prayer is probably more important than seat belts, but like you said we need spiritual and physical safety and strength. 

I also really liked the talk from the prophet when he talked about important decisions and that a lot of different decisions in life are really of no importance like should we sign billy up for soccer this year. What are we having for dinner. haha That was great. We need to look up and make the best decisions while we limit the amount of stress in our lives so that we can be open enough really receive the crucial inspiration and love from god to get through every single day! Oh yeah the gospel is so true.

Did you fly by yourself... you're crazy... the crazy lady.

Elisabeth Huber... the person that was baptized in wiener neustadt, is making so much progress in the gospel! She is feeling the spirit often and strong. I am so happy to be able to have taught her.. Or pretty much be along as the spirit taught her what she needed to know.

 I love you have the best week ever!

Elder Sonne

26 March 2012...Seventh Letter from Switzerland

26 March 2012….seventh letter from Switzerland

Hey MAMA,

We were supposed to have fast and testimony meeting... well we did

but i didn't exactly participate in the fasting... I thought it was the

week after conference! Well, so i guess i will be fasting then anyway..

Guess what!! We got to go to the temple!! WOw That was cool and auf

deutsch! Super awesome. I had a tough time trying to say patriarchal

in german.. its not easy.  Im so jealous...(that you and erica and jared went to general conference in Salt Lake City) actually, not really, I'm fine just strolling down to the church which is 1 minute away and spending the whole day there watching general conference and not having to park and worry and not

be able to see. Its better. so, we watch conference on saturday nigh tand sunday the whole day! 

Its good to hear that brian liked the pictures haha. (picture of scott with the shirt that brian gave him)

The granola bars were wunderbar! Oh yeah thank you!!! 

My companion is learning the guitar.. and we don't have much time to play. 

So, we found some people with the family name, schenk, who came from eggiwil; (relatives on my grandfather's side who are traced back to the 1500's) i didn't know if you had already heard that.

 They weren't too interested in the gospel.

The gospel is all about experiencing and doing; not knowing. If we know and don't do, that is actually worse than not knowing and not doing. Know it and then do it. That's how it works. Only do.

In Doctrine and Covenants 9:6 it describes the will of the Lord being the best.  

That has helped me to be happier and to know I am here for a reason.

Also 2 Nephi 26:24 and 25

I love you mama.

Elder Sonne

19 March 2012...sixth letter from Switzerland

Wow I like the smiley face !!! :) hello mama sunshine!

Wow i still cant believe that Bednar came to stake conference!!!

That is a great point (Elder Bednar's thoughts) with turning out with the love and really showing others what they mean to us and to heavenly father. He knows and we know that everyone that we encounter everyday is a divine son or daughter of a heavenly father, a brother or sister of ours. The people that cut us off on the highway, the people who yell at us for trying to share with them the most important message that could ever be spoken, the people that really annoy us and in and day out have the potential to become like our heavenly father. It is our job to help them get to that point. We cannot bear their sins like Christ but we can make it a little bit easier, we can be the link between them and that first little seed of faith that springs up unto everlasting life. Then we can sit down and eat the fruit from the tree of life together and talk about how many times they rejected the missionaries and thought that we were crazy haha!!!

I love you mama...

Oh and i am not going to be transferred for the next 5 weeks... Ill be here in Zollikofen! I love the spirit. Hey, have a great week!

The gospel is true and the field is white all ready to harvest even in the mountainous villages of Switzerland.

Elder Sonne

19 March 2012...zollikofen, switzerland

Hey Father!!! I know you were up at the matterhorn on your mission!!ahh that's soo cool. Yea that is the same spot as us!!! I was wearing a jacket and shorts because I didn't want to wear my jeans because they are uncomfortable and I wanted to enjoy my p-day!! The people in the gondola with me were laughing about it. They thought it was pretty funny that they were wearing ski stuff and I was wearing shorts... but it was actually really warm that day and especially on the ride up there! No I do not know anyone named Nehrkorn.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! The people here are opening up and the time to work is now... or in a couple hours when p-day ends haha! have a great week. The gospel is true and we need to be active in our faith like it says in james 1 verse 6. The work is good and hard.

Elder Sonne

12 March 2012...fifth letter from Switzerland

march 12 2012...zollikofen, switzerland

we went to the matterhorn today and it was really beautiful... I cant really describe it in words I will just send you the pictures.... We went up to see the matterhorn, but apparently there is a ski resort there. So we rode up in the lift with a bunch of skiers and they were looking at us a little weird. But they were from America, and sweden so they were friendly haha.

Its great to have the opportunity to feel the spirit everyday.

My companion was baptized about a year and a half ago... almost one year after he was baptized, he went on his mission.

We are eating with the members quite often and have regular contact

with them. Our bishop has been stressing working with the members here and letting them know that we are working together.

We do missionary work everyday. I am so tired. We talk to a lot of people who don't like us. But some people don't know who we are...Mostly the young people. We talk to people on the street and from door to door. and in the bus and in the train. We go by on some inactive members sometimes and active members other times. We are always trying to find people and have organized an easter walk in the woods so that people can invite their friends. We have really been pushing the members to get active with their friends because its almost impossible here to find people.

The picture of me with the deodorant was in switzerland; where i finally found the real deodorant!

have you been wearing your seat belt!!??? Hey sorry that I don't have a lot of time, we were busy and i need to wash my shirts! Love you!

Elder Sonne

oh and how is jacob... is he coming soon?

12 march 2012

Hello Vatter,

ahh, you had a translator (Rick spoke in the Spanish Branch).... I thought you suddenly learned Spanish or had the gift of tongues. The week was great, it was good to hear from you. Thank you for your words of wisdom. I love the gospel. Sorry I didn't have very much time to write!

I love you

5 March 2012....fourth letter from Switzerland

5 march 2012...Zollikofen, Switzerland

Hey mama

I have been really praying with some fervor like Enos... He wrestled for his soul and the people. I haven't done any good yelling that carries to the heavens but its good...this week i read in Jesus the Christ that true prayers are not filled with words, but with deep yearning and heart throbs. That Is cool! Sometimes I ask Heavenly Father how he's doing... its pretty cool.. just to have a nice conversation with him.

yea my companion speaks english... but we speak only German to one another.

the people here speak some english.. we have an investigator who is from america so i can let my vocabulary loose on him haha.

maybe I'll head over to eggiwil in a couple of weeks thats a good idea.

i think we have daylight savings... not really sure.

have a great week, I hope i wont be as tired this week. Yesterday this spirit was so strong at church that i basically cried the whole time and then was so tired i fell asleep when i was studying german afterward. Completely dead from the spirit!

I love you!!! the church is so true ahh!

Elder sonne

Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 1:32 PM:

Hey Father!!

Did you get a chance to do the scripture and church `activity` thing?? it has really helped me to come closer to heavenly father... Today I figured out something about mercy and justice... there are two things which the resurrection of jesus does... gives us our bodies back and brings us back to be judged. The mercy part of the atonement has two effects. The first is that we don't have to pay for our sins the second is that we can be clean and go back to live with heavnely father. The first... the punishment for sins has to be made either by us before the resurrection in hell or by jesus. It is our choice to let him take the burdens from us. When we do this, he also promises that we can be made clean to live with God again. The one is to satisfy the demands of justice (punishment) the other is to make us worthy to live with God and actually be clean! I am so grateful for jesus christ, our older brother who suffered so that we don't have to and who suffered for our eternal joy and happiness together with heavenly father. Dad, isn't that sooo cool ???!!!

My companion is from Coburg in bavaria. the names of the missionaries in my district are elder schulzke, elder nakkin( who used to live in st. louis and knows tanner pretty well, he now lives in utah and it turns out that I hung out with him at byu!) elder Sanderson from utah, elder Ramsbottom from England and elder and sister Fox.

yea im still in pretty good shape! I just bought my first swiss chocolate today so don't worry about it... I won't get fat, I'm too prideful haha.

Yea the people here aren't soo bad... the real potential is in the youth of the place... we will get em!!! We have been having great success with that.

Have a great week and I love you

Elder Sonne